


I'm sticking with you

by Notevenwinded



Category: Marvel (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Cute Banter, First Time Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Nightmares, Post-Winter Soldier, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-27
Updated: 2014-06-27
Packaged: 2018-02-06 11:23:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,729
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1856263
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Notevenwinded/pseuds/Notevenwinded
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>For lugocris on Tumblr who wanted some MCU Tony dealing with problems and super supportive Steve being there for him :3 Happy SteveTony Fest!</p>
            </blockquote>





	I'm sticking with you

Tony waking up covered in sweat and panting heavily seemed to be a common occurrence in the newly rebuilt Avengers Tower. At first, he was dealing with it alone, waking up in the middle of the night and trying to calm himself down, reminding himself that all those were memories that he was trying to repress, that he was safe from Iron Mongers, terrorists, aliens and Extremis enchanted soldiers that would spit fire.

The fall of SHIELD only meant one thing; that the Avengers were needed once again, and he didn’t hesitate to suggest that the Earth’s Mightiest Heroes stayed in his Tower. It was fun, trying to allocate everyone to rooms and floors; getting used to a full household was certainly something that Tony wasn’t used to and he quite secretly enjoyed the constant company. Working in the lab with Bruce, bumping into Clint and Thor in the kitchen, arguing about the quality of TV shows with Natasha and sparring with Steve.

He was kept busy almost at all times and that’s exactly what he needed; a mind like his own needed this, he needed to escape the nightmares and anxieties that would hit him at the most unfortunate and inconvenient times.

That was until Steve decided that he had to leave for a while; the Captain and Natasha were still affected by the fall of SHIELD and the Winter Soldier’s sudden reappearance. They didn’t talk much, but Tony knew that Steve was planning to leave, going after Bucky and trying to get him to remember who he was. Of course he offered to tag along, but Steve was right; he couldn’t leave the base of operations, and with the two of them being the co-leaders of the Avengers, at least one of them needed to stay in charge while the other was away.

And that was exactly when the nightmares started again, this time being more vivid. He couldn’t explain how that was linked with Steve’s departure; they didn’t sleep together or anything like that, they were just teammates and friends, it wasn’t like Steve was lurking at his floor and he could feel his presence to calm himself down. No, that was it, it might have been exactly what Tony wanted. Maybe part of him did want the strong Captain to be the one to calm him down whenever he would face these problems, whenever he was feeling alone and threatened.

Well, too bad, Steve has been away for months, presumably to Russia, anywhere but the heart of New York where Tony was situated. They would talk sometimes, but he didn’t blame Steve for being so invested in his mission; he wasn’t trying to save just anyone, they were talking about his best friend being brainwashed. Tony tried to help, he would send Steve and Sam any intellect he could get his hands on, but besides that, there wasn’t enough time for chit chatting.

He missed it. He actually did, he missed chatting with Steve, suggesting movies and shows to watch, music to listen, a new takeaway place to try out. It was fun, relaxing and casual, exactly what he needed to make sure that he was actually feeling good for a change. A changed man, that what he said he was when the reactor was removed from his chest, leaving a huge scar at its place, when he waved goodbye to his suits. It didn’t last long; the world needed protection and his suits were needed again, so he threw himself into work, especially now that he found himself more alone again. Building, night and day, making sure that his suits were even better than before.

Why did he wake up that night though? He wasn’t sure, the nightmares were still vivid and the only thing he could think off was that he needed some water, some fresh air, anything but to stay in that dark room. His hand was instinctively placed over the centre of his chest, gasping for air; he thought that those panic attacks were mostly gone by now, but he was wrong, he was reminded of that every time that he would wake up in the middle of the night.

The he bumped into something; it was still too dark to tell what or who it was. Times like these he actually did miss the reactor’s bright light. A pair of hands reached out for him and he gasped, pulling away straight away.

“D-Don’t touch me!”, he exclaimed as he pulled closer to the wall, falling down and looking at the shadowy figure with horror filled eyes. The possibilities were endless and his mind was already getting paranoid thoughts of a villain breaking into the Tower to get rid of him when he was vulnerable.

“Tony..? Are you all right?”, a concerned voice was heard, the figure stepping closer.

“Stay away…!”, Tony insisted, curling his legs up to his chest. “Don’t come any closer, I’m warning you..!”

“Tony, it’s me, Steve… Calm down…”, the voice replied again, and this time the large man knelt down, the light coming through the corridor window making it clear that the person there was indeed Steve Rogers. His blue eyes were tired but filled with concern nevertheless. He was still wearing his uniform and had a bag on his back, most likely having just returned.

“Steve…Steve..?”, Tony asked, still curled up, even though his breath seemed to be calming down.

“Yes, I just came back… What happened..?”, Steve asked him, reaching out to place a hand on Tony’s shoulder.

“No…”, Tony murmured again, pulling away.

Steve tilted his head, not insisting. He knew that the best way to deal with whatever was going through Tony’s head was to give him all the space he needed.

“Do you want to talk about it..?”

“About what?”, Tony asked back almost straight away.

“A nightmare probably? I know how this feels, trust me, I’ve had my fair share of-“

“You? Captain America? You know how this feels?”, he asked in disbelief. It might sounded a bit childish, but he didn’t seem to care at that moment. He was still shaking and Steve was there, it should have been enough to calm him down.

“Did you honestly think that I’m invincible? Come on now, Tony, I’m just a man”, Steve said softly, attempting to get closer. This time, Tony didn’t pull away. “Let’s get you back to bed…”

Tony hesitated for a moment before letting Steve pull him up and walk with him back in the huge bedroom. He noticed how Steve seemed to be scanning the room; it was the first time that the soldier found himself there, it sure must have made an impression. Laying back on the bed, he instinctively grabbed Steve’s hand when the blond turned away.

“I wasn’t leaving, I was going to pull a chair closer..”, Steve reassured him, and Tony nodded, patting the bed.

“You can sit here…”

“Are you sure…?” Steve asked, and Tony’s eyes said it all. With a nod, he got himself comfortable, sitting on the edge of the bed, focusing on Tony again.

“Are you feeling better?”

“Now that you’re here, yes”, he blurted out. “I mean, it’s good to know that you’re back in one piece, Cap.”

Steve smiled. “Well.. we’re not done yet… we’ve made some progress but I had to come back, at least for a bit. See what I’ve missed.”

“Nothing much… Nothing exciting is happening, it’s pretty boring without you here.”

“Really? Is that why you’re calling me a boring old man most of the time?”, Steve smirked.

Tony pulled a face. He was already feeling better; Steve’s presence worked miracles on him in a way he couldn’t explain. “Maybe.”

“And who looks older out of the two of us?”, Steve laughed.

Tony shook his head and lightly kicked Steve on his arm.

“Have you been exercising while I was away? That was one heck of a kick”, he replied, rubbing his arm.

Steve’s warm laugh, his casual words and friendly, understanding approach was exactly what Tony needed and he only responded by nodding quickly.

“I had to keep myself busy. You left a gap in my life, Rogers.”

“Did I? Well I’m back now. I’ll make sure that you get tired of me, Stark.”

“That’s impossible.”

“Oh?”, Steve asked, raising an eyebrow. “You love spending time with me, huh?”

“What do you think? I invited you in my bedroom in the middle of the night to banter with you.”

“I actually do like spending time with you too”, Steve said calmly.

Tony’s eyes widened; he didn’t know what was going on, if that was the both of them sort of confessing to each other in a way.

“I..like you too. Not just your company.”

It was Steve’s turn to scratch the back of his head, looking away for a moment, hoping that his pink cheeks weren’t visible.

“I guess I..missed you when I was away.”

“Did you? You actually really missed me? As much as I did?”

“You…what-”, Steve’s words were cut as Tony pulled him closer, palms on Steve’s cheeks.

“I like you..and I missed you..did you get that?”, Tony asked him softly.

“Y-yeah.. Roger that.”, the blond nodded, arms wrapping around Tony’s back.

He didn’t pull away. He didn’t feel the need to do so. It felt right, it felt nice, it felt like it was supposed to feel.

It was so amazing, how a simple embrace, a common hug, could be so unique and so soul touching. That was just the beginning. Tony’s nightmares didn’t exactly stop; but it didn’t matter, Steve was sleeping by his side, waking up when he would feel Tony even switching sides in his sleep, making sure that he knew that his guardian, his soldier, was there to protect him, to comfort him if he needed to. It worked both ways; Tony would do anything to ensure that Steve was feeling well, that he knew that he was doing what was best and encouraged him to try and find his lost friend. They were each other’s pillars, more than ever, and nothing would have happened if Tony didn’t finally let down those walls and let Steve in. They were together now, and nothing else mattered. They were unstoppable, they could anything. All that because they were finally together.


End file.
